Clutch for grain drill



March 27, 1962 E. E. SCHNELL 3,027,180

CLUTCH FOR GRAIN DRILL Original Filed Aug. 8, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTOR ERNST E. SCHNELL ORNEY March 27, 1962 E. E. SCHNELL CLUTCH FORGRAIN DRILL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Aug. 8, 1956 INVENTOR ERNSTE. SCHNELL DRNEY United States Patent Ofiice 3,027,180 Patented Mar. 27,1962 3,027,180 CLUTCH FOR GRAIN DRILL Ernst E. Schnell, West Bend, Wis,assignor, by mesne assignments, to Deere 8: Company, a corporation ofDelaware Original application Aug. 8, 1956, Ser. No. 662,809, new PatentNo. 2,881,883, dated Apr. 14, 1959. Divided and this application Oct.14, 1957, Ser. No. 689,891

1 Claim. (Cl. 287--52.06)

This application is a division of my copending application, Ser. No.602,809, filed August 8, 1956, now Patent No. 2,881,883 issued April 14,1959.

The present invention relates generally to agricultural implements andmore particularly to grain drill gearing. The object and general natureof this invention is the provision of new and improved means forconnecting and disconnecting gears, such as those utilized in a graindrill, to provide for changing gear ratios, selecting optionalcomponents for driving, and the like.

More specifically, it is a feature of this invention to provide a newand improved drive mechanism which includes one or more gears mountedfor relative rotation on a sleeve or the like, with means including aspring clip and attached pin to provide a convenient and easily operatedmeans for disengaging a selected gear from the associated sleeve.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of thefollowing detailed description of the preferred structure in which theprinciples of the present invention have been incorporated and which isillustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of a grain drillin which the principles of the present invention have been embodied.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally centrally throughthe clutch and associated parts shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional View taken generally along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 44 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 55 of FIG. 2,certain parts being shown in elevation.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the face side of the driven platemember.

Referring first to FIG. 1, the present invention is shown as embodied inthe grain drill, shown fragmentarily in FIG. 1, in which the frame ofthe grain drill is indicated by the reference numeral 11 and the hopperby the reference numeral 12. The grain drill also includes groundengaging supporting means which preferably takes the form of a pair ofground wheels 13 journaled on the lower ends of crank arms 14 that aresecured to the ends of a rockshaft 15 journaled for rocking movement, asby bracket means 16, that are secured to crossbars 17 forming a part ofthe frame 11. Only one of the ground wheels 13 and the associated crankarm 14 are shown in FIG. 1. A sprocket (not shown) is carried by thewheel 13 and is connected to one sprocket section of a double sprocket18 that is journaled on the outer end portion of the rockshaft 15. Theother sprocket section is connected by a drive chain 19 to a sprocket 21that is fixed, as by a pin or the like, to the outer end of anassociated jack shaft 22. The latter is carried in a pair of brackets 23and 24, the bracket 23 being fixed, as by bolts 25, to the hopper whilethe other bracket 24 is fixed to an end frame member 27 that forms apart of the grain drill frame 11. The hopper 12 also carries seeddispensing means indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 30,which mechanism includes a feed shaft 31 extending along the bottom ofthe hopper 12 and a plurality of feed cups 32 in which fluted feed rolls33 are respectively disposed. The feed shaft 31 is driven from the jackshaft 22 through drive mechanism that forms the subject matter of thepresent invention.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it will be seen that the jack shaft 22 issupported for rotation in the: inner bracket 23 and in the outer bracket24 that actually forms a part of the end structure of the hopper 12, thesprocket 21 being fixed to the shaft 22 by means of a pin 41 and isdisposed laterally outwardly of the box end or bracket 24. Located justinside the inner bracket 23 is a stationary cam member 42 that comprisesa hub section 43 and an arm portion 44, the latter being apertured toreceive a stud 45 (FIG. 1) carried by the bracket 23, which holds thecam member 42 against rotation with the shaft 22. A drive plate or drivemember 46 is connected, as by a pin 47, with the shaft 22 and includes aradially extending flange portion 48 and a hub sect-ion 49 that isextended generally axially toward the stationary cam 42. The axiallyfacing portion of the drive plate 46 is provided with a pair of axiallyextending, generally diametrically ar ranged abutments 51 that form apart of what may be considered recesses 52 facing axially outwardly andof which the abutments 51 form, respectively, one wall of each recess.The other wall of the recess is in the nature of an inclined surface 53leading from the bottom of each recess up to the axially extendingportion of which the abutment 51 is a part.

Cooperating with the drive plate member 46 is a driven plate member 56that is journaled on the shaft adjacent the member 46 and provided witha hub section 57 and an outwardly extending flange section 58. As bestshown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the face of the flange 58 adjacent the member 46is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed socket sections 59 thatare apertured as at 61a to receive pivot pins 61, and connected in eachof the socket sections 59 by the associated pin 61 is a clutch dog 63.Each of the clutch dogs 63 includes a transverse barrel section 64 andan arm sect-ion 65 that is apertured to receive the associated pin 61. Ahairpin type spring 67 has its coil section disposed about theassociated pin 61 and the ends of the spring 67 bear, respectively,against the face of the flange 58 and against the barrel section 64 soas to continually exert a bias against the dog 63 to force the lattergenerally toward the clutch recesses 52, whereby the dogs enter therecesses when they are permitted to move in that direction.

The clutch dogs are controlled by a slidable clutch throwout cam member76 that comprises a generally cylindrical part having a cylindricalskirt section 71 and a hub section 72 having axially facing cam lugs 73.There is a space between the flange portion 48 of the drive plate member46 and the adjacent shouldered portion 74 on the throwout cam member 70,and in this space is disposed circular spring means 76 that continuallyexerts a bias against the member 46 to move the throwout cam 7 0 to theright, as viewed in FIG. 2. The skirt section 71 is offset, as at 77, soas to provide a generally axially facing shoulder 78 that cooperateswith the outer ends of the barrel sections 64 of the clutch dog 63 sothat when the member is moved by the springs 76 to the position shown inFIG. 2, the barrel sections 64 of the clutch dog 63 are permitted tomove into the recesses 52 in the face of the member 46. The barrelsections 64 are thus shifted into driving relation with the respectiveabutments 51, whereby rotation of the shaft 23 is transmitted by thedrive plate member 46 through the clutch dogs 63 to the driven platemember 56.

The clutch throwout cam member 70 is adapted to be moved in the otherdirection, against the bias exerted by the springs 76, by the cam lugs73 acting in cooperation with cam lugs 81 formed on the stationary cammember 42 mentioned above. The throwout cam member 70 is provided withan operating arm 82 movable through approximately 30, which movement issufficient to cause the cam lugs 73 and 81 to cooperate one with theother so as to cause the member 70 to be shifted axially outwardly,which brings the shouldered portion 78 into operative engagement withthe clutch dogs 63, forcing them generallyaxially out of the recesses 52and out of engagement with the abutment 51, thereby disconnecting thedrive between the drive and driven clutch plates 46 and 56. As will beseen in FIG. 1, the clutch member 70 is moved as just described by meansof a link 85 connected at one end with the arm 82 and at the other endwith an arm 86 that is connected with the rockshaft 15. By virtue ofthis construction, when the rockshaft 15 is actuated to raise the hopper12 and associated parts relative to the ground wheels 13, the member 70is rocked in a direction to disconnect the drive from the jack shaft 23to the driven clutch plate 56. Conversely, when the hopper 12 andassociated parts are lowered to begin the drilling operation, therocking movement of the shaft 15 is transmitted by the link 85 to thearm 82 and thus rocks the member 70 in a direction to permit the springs76 to move the member 70 toward the right, as viewed in FIG. 2, whichpermitsthe clutch dogs 63 to enter the recesses 52 and thus reconnectthe clutch.

According to the principles of the present invention, the drive from thedriven clutch plate member 56 to the seeding apparatus, represented bythe mechanism 30, is transmitted through a drive sleeve 91 and anoptionally connectible drive gear 92. Other drive gears, such as thedrive gear 93, for example, are also optionally connectible with thedrive sleeve 91. As will best be seen in FIG. 2, the inner end of thedrive sleeve 91 is provided with a pair of lugs 95, which are adapted tobe received in corresponding recesses 96 formed in the hub section '57of the driven plate member 56. The sleeve 91 extends along the shaft 23substantially to the box end or hearing member '24, being separated fromthe latter by a thrust washer 97.

As will best be seen in FIG. 5, adjacent the hub section of the gear 92,the drive sleeve 91 is provided with an aperture 98 that is adapted toreceive the selector pin 101 that is carried by a substantially circularselector spring 102. This member encircles the hub 103 of the drive gear92, and the hub section 103 is also provided with an opening 104 throughwhich the selector pin 101 extends. From FIG. '5 it will be seen thatthe opening 104 is, adjacent the surface of the hub section 103,extended circumferentially, forming a pin-receiving recess as indicatedat 105, so as to provide a seat to receive and-retain the selector pin101 when the selector spring 102 is flexed outwardly and rotatedslightly relative to the hub 103 so as to remove the selector pin 101from the registering recesses 98 and 104, when it is desired todisconnect the gear 92 from the drive sleeve 91, which may be doneindependently of whether or not the clutch members 46 and 56 areconnected or disconnected. When it is desired to connect the gear 92,

for example, to the sleeve 91, the selector spring 102 is shifted so asto permit the selector pin 101 to enter the opening 104 in the gear hub,and also in the sleeve opening 98, when the openings are in registry oralignment, as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 5. For insuring that theselector spring 102 will be retained against axial displacement, the hubsection 103 of the gear 92 is provided with axially spaced apart ribs106. The drive gear 93 'is'selectively or optionally connectible withthe sleeve 91 by substantially the same means as just described, andhence the corresponding parts have been given the same referencenumerals. If desired, the drive gear 93 may be connected to drive theseeding mechanism 30 through associated means providing a differentratio, or the drive gear '93 may be connected to drive an associatedfertilizer attachment or a grass seed attachment, and the sleeve 91 maybe arranged to receive more than the two selectively associated gears 92and 93 described above.

While I have shown and described above the preferred structure in whichthe principles of the present invention have been incorporated, it is tobe understood that my invention is not to be limited to the particulardetails, shown and described above, but that, in fact, widely differentmeans may be employed in the practice of the broader aspects of myinvention.

What I claim, therefore, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

Disconnect gearing comprising a shaft serving as a support, a sleeve onsaid shaft and having a radial opening, a gear mounted rotatably on saidsleeve and having a hub provided with a generally radial opening adaptedto be aligned with the opening in said sleeve, said gear hub having ribsdisposed at opposite sides of said opening and spaced axially outwardlyof said opening, a generally circular selector member formed of flatspring material and embracing said hub between said ribs for appreciablymore than whereby the resilience of said seleptor member serves toretain the same about said hub, there being an opening in said selectormember adjacent one end, a selector pin having a reduced end disposed insaid last mentioned opening and larger portion adapted to be disposed inthe openings in said sleeve and said gear hub for rotatably connectingthe gear and hub for transmitting power, said selector spring havingsufficient flexibility to accommodate the complete withdrawal of saidpin from said openings and circumferential shifting of said springmember about the hub between said ribs to carry said pin away from saidhub and sleeve openings, and a pin-receiving recess formed in the outersurface of said hub between said ribs adjacent said hub opening andadapted to receive and retain said selector pin in a position removedfrom said hub and sleeve openings, thus interrupting the transmission ofpower between said sleeve and gear.

References Cited in the file or" this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS267,391 Woolson Nov. 14, 1882 716,857 Boivin Dec. 30, 1902 862,948 DeVribe Aug. 13, 1907 1,745,738 Carter Feb. 4, 1930 2,162,772 Blum June20, 1939 2,243,233 Volk May 27, 1941 2,508,195 Seaman et a1 May 16, 19502,558,352 Gandrud June 26, 1951 2,637,987 Hill et al. May 12, 19532,710,116 Juzwiak June 7, 1955 2,801,030 Beck July 30, 1957 FOREIGNPATENTS 20,458 Great Britain of 1910

